Evil-Dog's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tranquility]

NAC Judging

Sounds great, kudos for the actual instrumentations. Love the natural sound of it all. Great mix too! I'll let the fact that you didn't make it for the contest slide. I don't see how I can judge a contest song when it's not made for the contest. Cool song.

Valtanen responds:

Thanks. :)

[Mother]

NAC Judging

The intro is amazing, really touching, but then you brought in a really craptacular saxophone (?) sample that really turned me off. Still a cool composition. I can feel it.

Troisnyx responds:

That wasn't a sax, that was an oboe! D: Even HFX got that wrong!
Still, I'm glad you liked it!

[-YRX- Mama]

NAC Judging

Right from the start, I don't really like the piano sample you used, it's a bit weak. Then the percussion is way too loud and dry. Without a story in the description, it's hard to know what the song is about. And since I can't really imagine how it relates to a mom's adventure it's a bit off the mark for the contest. It's not a bad song though so you don't lose to many points.

YouriX responds:

Sorry i couldnt come up with a description. I thought this song could work well in the title screen or something. Either way i did the best i could do. Thanks for the pro tips though ;)

[Avenge of the Fallen]

NAC Judging

I can feel the epicness of your mom raising you. Sounds pretty good, samples are not too bad. It's a nice soundtrack to your mom.

ALECXACE responds:

thank you!

[-Epitaph-]

NAC Judging
The piano composition was pretty cool although the samples were pretty weak. The singing didn't do it for me, it was too loud for the rest of the music, if you had mixed your tracks better, the vocals could have blended a lot better with the music yet still sound clearly. I liked the use of the hapsicord (right?) but it made the song convey more evil than despery. The lyrics were a bit trite too haha great composition still!

ChronoNomad responds:

Thanks, Evil-Dog! I appreciate the honest criticism. Admittedly, mixing vocals is not my strong suit...yet. As in all things, practice makes perfect. The lyrics were primarily an afterthought to the instrumentals in this case, and the overall triteness cannot be denied. Then again, this was a NAC where emo goes to die, so they felt appropriate for the whole "my life sucks, so I might as well die" mentality. Heh.

[Rain Pours On Clouds Too]

NAC Judging
Right from the start, it's obvious you suffer from having a crappy piano sample and you don't make any use of the velocity that adds realism to a piano track. This sounds more creepy than anything else. And what the hell happens at 1:29...whaaaaaa...that didn't for me at all haha nice try though.

Gobblemeister responds:

Rapefunk is something you feel dog, you gotta feel it.

[So Cold]

NAC Judging
Love the soundscape in the intro! And then when the music starts, it's really well produced and dark and odd. Doesn't quite sound like Despery though. More like melancholy, close enough I guess! This is a really song, cool but weird vocals, the drum sounded splendid, the piano added a lot and there were lots of additional sounds that added a great layer of cake to the song. Really good. Yeah the only point you lose is not conveying that much despair or misery.

newhansen responds:

Thx for the review!

[I'm Emo.]

NAC Judging
Nah that didn't work at all for me. A contest about despair and misery really doesn't mean a grungy song about emos. Still a cool song, I like the harmonics in the vocals, the bass is great but it's a shame the guitar was so badly recorded. And no drums? nice try :)

SonicWombat responds:

I appreciate the review.
I'll definitely have to find a way to record my electric more efficiently.

[No Job (re-done)]

NAC Judging
Wow that's an awesome song, super well produced, but I really don't feel like the theme of the contest was respected here, when talking about despair and misery, I really don't imagine a funky song like that haha like I said, totally well produced, love the song but not for the contest, so that's where you lose points. I also feel like you could have found better tom sounds or add some effect to it, they sound a bit dry. The song sounds rather positive too. I hate taking away points for the contest's sake, such a well made song!

IIPhase responds:

Despair and misery comes in many forms. What is common for many can be misery and despair for another. I decided to go with a more traditional approach in a style of the old rhythm and blues era. The repetition in this song is chosen deliberately. It contribute to the same everyday struggle that the man in the story is facing. Taking points off is fine by me it's your call. However judging despair and misery needs you to really understand each and every form of misery and despair and try not to be subjective in that area. :-) Thanks for judging!

[A Melancholy Evening]

NAC Judging
Awesome composition, I can feel the despair. I like how it sounds rather classical, there was similar music in one of the Dungeon and Dragon games, in the realm of vampires and stuff, it was awesome. You only lose points for the weak attack times of your instruments that you clearly hear when there are fast notes, you should have reduced the attack time of your instrument to have better fast melodies. That's the only complain I have, great job.

samulis responds:

Ya, I was trying to find a sound in EWQL that was sweet and lyrical, partially sacrificing the attack for that particular feel. I am glad you liked the style. :)